U.S.-backed terrorist group PKK/YPG, which runs a jail in northeastern Syria for Daesh members, says they oppose handing the facility over to the new rulers of Syria. They cite possible attacks by Daesh and claim monitoring its attempts to re-emerge.
The YPG/PKK has said Daesh terrorists have already attempted two attacks on prisons in a bid to break out their comrades since Bashar Assad was toppled from power on Dec. 8.
At a prison in the city of Hasakah, where some 4,500 Daesh members, including many foreigners, are incarcerated, a YPG/PKK terrorist predicted that Daesh would try again. “When the Syrian regime fell … Daesh seized a lot of weapons, and they will organize themselves again to attack prisons,” the member, his identity concealed by a ski mask, told Reuters.
Earlier this month, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Daesh terrorists imprisoned in Syria should be taken back by the countries of their nationality, as he noted that Türkiye would support such a process. Fidan reiterated the importance of ensuring security in Syria at a news conference on Jan. 2. He said that the new Syrian administration should take control of the Daesh terrorist camps and prisons, adding that Türkiye was ready to support the process. The top Turkish diplomat reiterated that terrorist groups do not belong in Syria’s future and that Türkiye wants all terrorist elements, including the PKK’s Syrian offshoot YPG terrorists, to leave the country immediately. The PKK/YPG found itself cornered after anti-regime forces toppled the decadeslong regime in December. It sought to exploit the situation by attempting to capture new areas. Still, the Syrian National Army (SNA) stopped the terrorist group’s advance and captured Tal Rifaat and Manbij, two PKK bastions, last month.
The YPG/PKK benefited from the U.S. partnership as Washington sees them as a key ally against Daesh. Terrorists captured towns held by Daesh.
The jails have come into focus since anti-regime forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) seized power from Assad and established a new government, aiming to restore central authority. Foreign powers are at odds over who should run the jails. The outgoing U.S. administration indicated its support for the YPG/PKK continuing to guard them. Former U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Jan. 8 that a critical part of avoiding a Daesh resurgence was to enable YPG/PKK terrorists to do the job “they’ve been doing … of securing the foreign terrorist fighters.”
The YPG/PKK terrorist, speaking to Reuters, said he did not believe that the YPG/PKK would hand the jails to the new administration. “Sharing it with the new government will not be acceptable. Protecting this prison is the responsibility of the coalition and the SDF only,” he said, referring to an acronym used by the YPG to define itself.
The YPG/PKK and the new administration are at odds over how the former might be integrated into Syria’s new security apparatus: the YPG says it does not intend to dissolve itself, as the new Defense Ministry requires.
The terrorist group says that it is guarding some 10,000 Daesh fighters. In addition, the YPG/PKK oversees a detention camp, al-Hol, where tens of thousands of people are held. Many are family members of suspected Daesh fighters.
At the prison, which was attacked by Daesh in 2022, one detainee said he traveled to Syria from Britain in 2014 to join the group, believing “the law of God Almighty will be implemented in this land.” “We’re six years in prison now and we don’t know anything about our situation, about our wives and our children and our mothers,” said the man, speaking through a small, barred window. Detainees could be seen sitting on mattresses in shared cells accommodating a dozen or more men.
Another detainee, identified as a German citizen originally from Tunisia, said he had spent eight years in jail with no information about his wife and children. “Everyone regrets it, everyone knows they committed a big mistake and people honestly want to return to their homes and families,” he said.
A Russian detainee also expressed regret and said he hoped President Vladimir Putin would forgive him. The terrorists who run the prison withheld their names.
The YPG/PKK once called on foreign states to repatriate their nationals, and in 2023, it announced plans to start “trying them.” Rights groups say some countries have balked at reclaiming their citizens, citing security concerns.